1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer input devices, and more particularly to input devices that can sense physiological conditions of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
People's emotions affect their performance in undertaking many tasks, including computer-related tasks. For example, a person who is agitated or angry is less likely to perform at an optimum level when operating a computer than is a person who is calm. Furthermore, a person's emotional state can be projected onto his or her computer; consequently, an otherwise "insensitive" computer might exacerbate, e.g., a person's anger or frustration.
With this in mind, the present invention understands that it can be important to know the emotional state of a computer user. With a knowledge of a user's emotional state, the present invention recognizes that it is possible to alter a computer's responses to user inputs as appropriate for the user's emotional state, thereby promoting the user's efficiency. Indeed, it can be important to know the emotional state of a person who is operating an instrument, such as a vehicle, that is not typically thought of as being computerized but that incorporates computers, to thereby promote the operator's efficiency or to warn an operator when his or her emotional state is less than optimum for operating the instrument.
When something stimulates an emotion in a person, the person's autonomic nervous system is affected, and in turn the autonomic nervous system affects the person's pulse, certain glands, and certain involuntary actions, collectively referred to herein as "physiological attributes". Accordingly, an understanding of a person's emotions can be gained by measuring certain of the person's physiological attributes, such as pulse and temperature.
It happens that many of these physiological attributes can be measured by sensors that touch the person. Thus, the present invention recognizes that an opportunity exists to non-invasively and unobtrusively measure physiological attributes of a computer user by providing biosensors in a computer input device, such as a mouse, that the user would be expected to routinely manipulate.
Unfortunately, prior devices that incorporate biosensors do not recognize the above-mentioned considerations and thus do not adequately address understanding the emotional state of a user. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,217 provides a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor in a mouse to cause music to be played in response to the sensor, but the '217 patent does not correlate a physiological attribute directly to an emotional state. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,619 teaches using biosensors to control a displayed visual "aura" in a computer game, but like the '217 patent, the '619 patent does not appear to recognize the desirability of correlating physiological attributes directly to a user's emotional state.
Fortunately, the present invention recognizes that it is possible to provide an unobtrusive, flexible, robust system and method for measuring physiological attributes of a computer user and then correlating the attributes to an emotional state that can be useful for a wide variety of purposes. Specifically, in a calibration group of people physiological attributes can be mapped or correlated to emotions by recording multiple physiological attributes along with, e.g., accompanying facial expressions or other expression of emotion, to render a baseline emotion correlation model. We have discovered that if a sufficient number of particularly selected physiological attributes are measured in subsequent subject computer users, using the baseline correlation model the emotional states of the users can be known and expressed in a functionally useful way.